Officials still don't know why 2 IMPD officers shot Aaron Bailey

Members of Indianapolis' black community wonder whether ongoing investigations into the fatal police involved shooting of Aaron Bailey, an unarmed black man, will be different from past cases.
Dwight Adams/IndyStar

Aaron Bailey, center, volunteers at the 2017 Christ Church Cathedral Women's Strawberry Festival. Bailey was fatally shot by two Indianapolis police officers early June 29, 2017, following a traffic stop and short car chase. A later search of the car revealed he was unarmed.(Photo: Provided by David Jose)

Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Chief Bryan Roach clarified Thursday that it is not known what transpired in the moments before two of his officers fired their weapons and fatally shot 45-year-old Aaron Bailey, who was unarmed.

The day of the shooting, IndyStar reported that an IMPD spokesman said Bailey reached down in the car before Officers Michal P. Dinnsen and Carlton J. Howard fired their weapons. Roach, however, said Thursday police do not know that to be a fact.

Roach told IndyStar he is not certain of circumstances because he has not seen any statements provided by the two officers. In a criminal investigation involving police officers, those statements would typically be given first to prosecutors.

A spokeswoman for the Marion County prosecutor's office told IndyStar on Thursday that it could not comment on the investigation. The two officers also are required to provide IMPD with an administrative statement, but that would happen later in the process.

“I have questions like everyone else,” Roach said, and that includes, the chief said, why the officers decided to fire into the vehicle.

Bailey, who was unarmed when he was shot at the end of a police chase during the early morning hours of June 29, has garnered national attention and become a hashtag used by activists.

CLOSE

The FBI has opened a civil rights investigation into the fatal police shooting of Aaron Bailey, an unarmed black man, in Indianapolis on June 29, 2017.
Dwight Adams/IndyStar

But more than two weeks after the shooting stopped and Bailey was pronounced dead at Eskenazi Hospital, several unanswered questions continue to surround the case.

>> Why did police attempt to pull over Aaron Bailey?

The chain of events that ended in gunfire began with IMPD officers attempting to stop Bailey's vehicle about 1:45 a.m. near Bursdal Parkway and East Riverside Drive. Police said about 10 minutes into the stop, Bailey drove off and a vehicle pursuit began.

But police have not said why Bailey's vehicle was stopped. Was Bailey stopped for committing a traffic violation; was he stopped in connection to a warrant that was issued for his arrest after he violated the terms of his release on a pending theft case filed in early February; or something else entirely?

>> Who was the car registered to? And why did Bailey drive away?

Police have not said if the car was registered to Bailey, his passenger or someone else.

We also don't know why Bailey made the decision to drive away. No information has been released about the interaction between Bailey and officers before the vehicle pursuit, and no dashcam footage is available.

>> How fast were they going during the pursuit?

Police said the chase only lasted about a minute and ended with a minor crash when Bailey's sedan ran into a fence near the intersection of 23rd and Aqueduct streets.

But information about the speed and manner of the chase has not been released by investigators. It is unclear if anything that happened during the chase contributed to how officers approached Bailey's vehicle once it crashed.

>> Did Bailey and the officers exchange words before shots were fired?

Investigators said Dinnsen and Howard approached the crashed vehicle together. But what we don't know is what whether they gave verbal commands to Bailey or if Bailey said anything in response.

Also unavailable is whatever Bailey and the police said to each other during the 10-minute traffic stop.

>> How many times did each officer fire? How many times was Bailey shot? Where was he hit?

While police said they still don't know what happened before the shooting, they confirmed that Bailey was still in the car when he was shot.

Investigators are working to determine which officer fired the first shot, how many times each weapon was fired and where Bailey was hit. The officers have also not provided statements about why they chose to use lethal force in this situation.

>> Are there any witnesses besides police?

Sitting next to Bailey through the stop, chase and shooting was 26-year-old Shiwanda Ward. She was unhurt during the incident, but was taken into custody on a misdemeanor charge of possession of drug paraphernalia.

Police said during a news conference held hours after the shooting that other than the two officers, Ward was the only eyewitness to the shooting. IndyStar has made attempts to speak to Ward, but those attempts have been unsuccessful.